1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to medical equipment, and more particularly to emergency life-saving medical equipment used to treat severe wounds.
2. Description of Related Art
Tourniquets have been used for a number of years to stop excessive bleeding from severe wounds. Many tourniquets are simply pieces of rope or cord that can be tied around an extremity that has been severely damaged. In addition, other tourniquets have been developed such as those constructed of nylon with “VELCRO” patches to eliminate the need for tying a knot in the tourniquet. Although useful for stopping such heavy bleeding, applying either of these tourniquets may be awkward or difficult for the injured person. As a result, for purposes of properly securing the tourniquet, a second person may be needed to assist the victim. This may be impossible as the wounded person may be alone and may not have enough time to seek help from another individual. Thus, what is needed in the art is a tourniquet system that overcomes the limitations of the prior art without significantly increasing costs or design complexity.